The Story of Girl Detained for Dress Code

DID Press: The arbitrary arrest of a number of girls in the capital Kabul and other provinces over an allegedly improper “hijab” by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice forces has recently gone viral. These girls have stories about their detention period.

They say they were disrespected, humiliated, and insulted during their detention period.
This is the story of one of the girls, who narrates her experience.
“They called us filthy prostitutes. Insult and humiliation were evident in their looks. I felt like each of the Taliban members wanted to kill us with pride and say Allahu Akbar, because when we arrived at the determined place, many of them said Alhamdulillah,” she said after moments of silence while her hands were shaking, her lips were dry, and her eyes were filled with tears.

Khatera (name changed) was one of the girls who was arrested with five others from the Dasht-e Barchi area and were transferred to a place she does not know where it was.
“I was going to Barchi City Center (a shopping mall), and almost there, someone hugged me tightly without saying a word and tried to take me with himself. I screamed, but he covered my mouth with one hand. When I saw a Ranger (a military vehicle), I became aware that he had arrested me, but I did not understand for what crime. When we approached the car, I saw three other girls inside. All of them were crying and begging to be allowed to go to their homes, crying and pleadingly saying they made a mistake,” she said.
Moments later, another girl was also taken to the car, and we were now 5 girls inside the Ranger. The car started moving, and the person sitting next to the driver was apparently one of the officials. He turned to us and said, Satan’s whores, I know what to do with you prostitutes.

The de facto Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice forces have recently gone to populated places like shopping malls and streets, arresting women and girls who, according to them, do not wear Islamic hijab.
This wave of arrests has created a horrible atmosphere among the citizens. Many girls refrain from going to educational centers and medical institutes that are still open to girls.
“When we reached the office of the Ministry of Virtue and Vice, I was shaking with fear and wished for death every moment while remembering the stories of already detained girls who had experienced the ill-treatment of Taliban members. I felt like a weak prey facing ravenous monsters. Anger and hatred were visible in their eyes. They looked at us as if they had arrested world criminals and were waiting to kill them,” added Khatera.

After a few hours, our families came and released us by signing a written guarantee, a copy of the ID card, and detailed information.
According to her, when the girls’ families came, some of them cursed their daughters, apparently to make the Taliban forces happy.
Explaining the detention of girls and women in Kabul city, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said a group of girls who were “promoting bad hijab” were caught and released after being advised.
He refused any kind of ill-treatment, torture, or humiliation contrary to Afghan social traditions and religious issues.
On the other hand, in response to the publication of a photo showing the arrest of girls from the Khair Khane area, the de facto Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice said the photo is related to the collection of beggars from the city.
The Ministry described the publication of such a photo as a conspiracy by foreign media outlets.
The arrest of girls and women in Kabul and Ghazni provinces over dress codes drew widespread domestic and foreign reactions.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), in a statement, expressed deep concerns over arbitrary arrests of women and girls due to dress code.

“Enforcement measures involving physical violence are especially demeaning and dangerous for Afghan women and girls,” said Roza Otunbayeva, Special Representative of the Secretary General and head of UNAMA.